//------------------------------// // Present Day Salem/Meeting the Dennisons // Story: G5 Adventures in Hocus Pocus // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// “Poor Thackary Binx... neither his father, his mother, nor anyone else every knew what became of him, those 300 years ago.” We now jump forward to present day Salem, Massachusetts, where a high school teacher by the name of Miss Olin was telling her students the legend of the Sanderson Sisters, and all of the students were waiting for school to lay out so they could spend the rest of the night trick-or-treating, since that day was Halloween. And to those who may not know it, Halloween is the mortal world equivalent to Nightmare Night. “And so the Sanderson sisters were hanged by the Salem townsfolk,” Miss Olin continued to the some bored and some enthusiastic students. “Now there are those who say, that on Halloween night, a black cat still guards the old Sanderson House. Warning off any who might make the witches come back to life.” “Give me a break...” Everyone turned toward their heads to see who had spoke, but they all had a good feeling they knew who it eas-- Max Dennison, the newest student in the class from Los Angeles, and everyone seemed irritated that he had said such a thing. “Uh huh. We seem to have a skeptic in our midst,” Miss Olin said, unamused. “Mr. Dennison, would you care to give your California, laid back, tie-dyed point of view?” This caused the entire class to laugh. “Okay,” Max responded, thinking he could get by. “Granted that you guys here in Salem are all into these black cats and witches and stuff…” “Stuff?” the teacher repeated, but Max just went on talking. “But everyone here knows that Halloween was invented by the candy companies. It’s a conspiracy.” Suddenly, a pretty girl named Allison Watts spoke up from a few desks away. “It just so happens,” she stated, “that Halloween is based on the ancient feast called All Hallow’s Eve. It’s the one night of the year where the spirits of the dead can return to Earth.” “Well said, Allison!” Miss Olin applauded, and the rest of the class followed suit with wild cheers. Then, Max got up from his seat and went over to Allison with a piece of paper in his hand. “Well in case Jimmy Hendrix shows up tonight, here’s my number.” After that, the school bell rang, and Allison was the first to leave. A few minutes later, Max raced outside to try and talk to her. “Allison!” “Hi,” Allison greeted. “Hi. Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you in class,” Max tried to apologize, but Allison quickly brushed it off. “You didn't.” “My name's Max Dennison,” Max extended his hand for Allison to shake, to which she did. “Yeah, I know. You just moved here, huh?” “Yeah, last week.” “Must be a big change for you.” Max shrugged in response. “Yeah, that’s for sure.” “You don’t like it here?” Allison asked. “Oh, the leaves are great, but… I don’t know, it’s just all this Halloween stuff.” “You don't believe in it?” “What do you mean, like the Sanderson sisters? No way.” “Not even on Halloween?” “Especially not on Halloween.” Allison then got a piece of paper out from her pocket. “Trick or treat.” Max took the paper and watched as she walked off before unfolding the paper she gave him... only to find out it was the same paper he gave her back in the classroom. “Well, Max,” he muttered to himself, “you blew it.” XXXXXXXXX Sunny and her friends emerged from a portal not long after Max got on his bike to head home, appearing on the side of the road and wondering where they were as they glanced around the area. “Hmm...” Sunny looked at a sign nearby. “Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts. I guess this is the place the Unity Crystals wanted us to go to.” “But this town is pretty big, though,” Hitch frowned. “How are we gonna find the person who needs help in this place?” “I don't know, and I don't like the sound of this town,” Zipp shuddered. “The sooner we find our mission and complete it, the better off I think we'll all be.” “And you'll be better off when you leave, trespassers.” Everyone jumped at the sound of a gruff and irritated female voice from above them, and what landed before them was a creature Sunny recognized immediately. “You're... you're a griffin! A real griffin!” The griffin in question was a tan and dark gray-brown griffin with darker claws, light teal eyes, teal tips on the end of her tail, bangs and different shades of teal on her wings, but she didn't look too pleased to see them. “Psh. Yeah, I'm a griffin. So what?” “Sorry, I... I've never seen a real griffin before. You don't see many of them around Equestria these days,” Sunny said sheepishly. “I'm Sunny, and these are my friends-- Pipp, Zipp, Misty, Izzy and Hitch. What's your name?” “...Hesperia,” the griffin grumbled. “There, I told you my name. What do you want? You should know that we griffins don't exactly do with trespassers what ponies would.” “We kinda got sent here by some magic,” Hitch explained, “and we're trying to figure out our mission so we can get back home in time for Nightmare Night.” “Nightmare Night?” Hesperia said, looking rather surprised. “The ponies still have that? Even after they pushed us out?” “Well... there's actually a reason that you guys were pushed out to begin with,” Zipp said. “We did some research, and according to some friends, Twilight Sparkle and her friends pushed some species out of Equestria to protect them from being in trouble.” “Trouble? What could my ancestors possibly have been in trouble from?” Hesperia looked incredibly doubtful. “From an evil alicorn named Opaline Arcana, who sought out dragon fire so she could take all the magic in Equestria,” Misty said, and this caused Hesperia to become surprised. “So... the Guardians had to put all magic into three crystals and send the other creatures away, so their magic wouldn't be put a risk too.” Hesperia hummed in thought, her tough and angry expression falling. “Wow... heh, I... I never thought about it that way. I guess you ponies did have some good qualities after all. Unlike what my grandfather told me when I was only a hatchling. Sorry I sorta jumped to conclusions.” “Oh, it's no biggie!” Izzy shrugged it off. “But we do need someplace to stay,” Pipp said. “Until our mission is over. Aaaaaand potentially a place where we can try on some potential Nightmare Night costume ideas.” “I know a place, and the girl that I have in mind to help you is really great,” Hesperia said. “Follow me. And, so people won't stare at you m, you better start calling Nightmare Night by something else. In this world, we call it Halloween.” “Halloween, huh?” Zipp tapped her chin for a moment before smiling. “Huh. I like it. Lead the way!” XXXXXXXXX “The Dennisons moved just to Salem last week from Los Angeles, California,” Hesperia said as they snuck around the city. “I already met the youngest member, Dani, when she helped me get a rope trap off my leg. She sometimes leaves food out for me, and I watch over the house, making sure no one tries to bring the family harm.” “Awwww...” Izzy cooed. “She sounds so sweet!” “What else can you tell us about the Dennison family?” Misty asked curiously. “Well, let me see...” Hesperia hummed in thought. “Their oldest son, Max is 15, he goes to the nearby high school, and is... really a downer. I had to beg him to not tell his parents about me when he used his pocket knife to cut me free from that trap.” “Sheesh... he DOES sound like a grump,” Zipp frowned. “But the parents, Dave and Jenny seem like absolute angels. They moved to Salem cause of Dave's new job, but Max seems pretty mad that they've moved here.” “Hmmm...” Zipp hummed and looked at Sunny for a moment. “Could be a good victim if Opaline were to pull some of those manipulation tricks again.” “Maybe, Zipp,” Sunny murmured, “but let's not cause a panic with our assumptions.” Finally, they arrived at a large white house at the end of the street. “We're here,” Hesperia said quietly. “Dani's bedroom window is on the backside of the house. We need to sneak around the side and avoid detection so we can get up to her.” Sunny nodded at the statement. “We'll follow you since you know the area best.” Hesperia led them around the house before she led them into the backyard, where they waited for her as she flew up to a window and pecked on it. Who opened it was none other than Dani herself-- a curly haired girl with optimistic eyes, dressed in a witch's costume of orange and black. “Hespy! You're back!” Dani hugged the griffin. “Do you like my costume?” “You look great, Dani,” Hesperia smiled. “Listen... I have some friends I want to introduce to you and your brother once he gets home from school, and it's... gonna be hard to explain. Are your parents busy?” “They're just downstairs,” Dani shrugged. “Why? Are your friends special or something?” Hesperia chuckled, glancing down at the ponies down below. “That's them down there.” Dani looked down at the waving and smiling ponies with wide and wondrous eyes. “Whoa... get them a ladder! They can hide in my room until Max gets home.” “You got it,” Hesperia winked. “Oh! And they have Halloween costumes they wanna change into. Maybe it'll help them blend in better.” XXXXXXXXX At the same time that Dani and the ponies were getting acquainted, Max was riding his bike through a graveyard on his way home, when two other kids from Max's high school appeared in his path. “Halt!” said one kid, causing Max to stop his bike. “Who are you?” “Max. I just moved here.” “From where?” the second kid asked. “Los Angeles,” Max responded, causing confusion among the other two. “L.A.” Sure enough, the confusion seemed to clear, and the first kid introduced them. “I’m Jay, this is Ernie.” The second boy, now known as Ernie, grabbed Jay roughly. “How many times I gotta tell you… my name ain’t Ernie no more, it’s Ice? Ice.” “This is Ice,” Jay corrected, and 'Ice' showed off the back of his head, with the word 'ice' shaved from his hair. “So, let’s have a butt.” “No, thanks,” Max dismissed. “I don't smoke.” “They’re very health conscious in Los Angeles,” Ice said teasingly, and he and Jay laughed before Jay turned back to Max. “You got any cash... Hollywood?” “No.” “Gee, we don’t get any smokes from you, we don’t get any cash,” Jay spoke. “What am I supposed to do with my afternoon?” “Maybe you could learn to breathe through your nose.” Jay thought this was hilarious, but one look from Ice stopped his laughter. That's when Jay looked down and saw the nice pair of shoes that Max was wearing. “Whoa. Check out the new cross trainers.” “Cool,” Ice smirked. “Let me try them on.” Max tried to leave, but Ice and Jay were quick to stop him. And then, Max continued on his way home... but with no shoes on his feet. XXXXXXXXX Back at his house, Max barged through the door as his parents were in the kitchen. “Hey, Max,” Jenny said, “how was school?” “It sucked.” “Hey, hey watch your language,” Dave scolded as Max stormed up the stairs. “I can’t believe you made me move here!!” As their son disappeared upstairs, Jenny noticed that there was something different going on. “He wasn’t wearing any shoes.” Dave shrugged at that. “Well, must be some form of protest.” XXXXXXXXX As he got to his room, Max threw his stuff down and went over to his fish, beginning to feed them as it looked like two someones were watching him from the nearby closet. “Hey, guys.” As soon as he was done feeding his fish, Max laid down on the bed and started cuddling with one of the pillows on his bed. “Oh... oh, Allison,” he muttered in a swooning tone. “You’re so soft, I just wanna hug…” “BOO!!” Dani and Hesperia cried as they leapt from the closet, and Max felt his heart skip a beat before he turned to them in anger and frustration. “Hesp! Dani!” “I scared you. I scared you! Ha ha!” Dani taunted before getting on the bed and imitating her brother. “I’m Allison. Allison. Kiss me, I’m Allison.” “Mom and Dad told you to stay out of my room!” Max barked. “Pfft. Don't be such a crab,” Hesperia said as she stretched, and Dani began to jump up and down on the bed. “Guess what?! You’re gonna take us and our new friends trick-or-treating.” “Not this year, Dani.” “Mom said you have to.” “Well she or those new friends of yours can take you.” “Your mom and dad are going to a party at city hall,” Hesperia responded. “Besides... these friends are some ponies who really don't know their way around. Not like I do, and I can keep an eye on you guys.” “Well you’re eight, go by yourself,” Max quickly dismissed to his sister before going to his drumset and began playing. “No way! This is my first time! The ponies and I'll get lost without you and Hespy!” Dani argued. “Besides, it’s a full moon outside. The weirdos are out!” She then went over and gave her brother a side hug, annoying him. “Come on, Max. Couldn’t you forget about being a cool teenager for one night? Please! Come on, we used to have so much fun together trick-or-treating. Remember? It’ll be like old times.” “Dani, the old days are dead.” “It doesn’t matter what you say,” Dani said. “You're taking us.” “Wanna bet?” “Uh oh...” Hesperia dove into the closet and plugged her ears, knowing exactly what was going to happen next as Dani unleashed her secret weapon... screaming for her mother at the top of her lungs. Max reluctantly agreed to take them if Dani stopped screaming... and after being talked to by their parents. But needless to say... he knew this would be the worst day of his entire life... if the past week hasn't been bad enough already. Now he not only had a little sister to deal with, but who knows what else as well.